Monday, February 26, 2018

The fair's 12th edition returns with a larger and diversified edition with 78 galleries from 42 countries. Art Dubai's blog looks at solo and duo-artist presentations that focuses on women artists, African art, sculpture, and pieces that highlight social engagement.

THE ROOM: DAY AND NIGHT

As part of Khaleeji artistic collective GCC's installation at The Room, a series of daily performances and after-parties will take place during the course of the fair. Under the title of GCC After Dark, local and international DJs, such as Venus X, Total Freedom, and TELFAR, are set to perform into the night.

WELCOMING HIROMI TANGO

Through her interactive workshops tailored to children and adolescents, the Japanese-Australian artist Hiromi Tango will lead The Sheikha Manal Little Artists Program. Entitled Healing Garden, Tango's workshops will invite children to thoughtfully create a nurturing environment inspired by local plants and flowers.

JULIUS BAER PRESENTS KARIM NOURELDIN

Julius Baer will be unveiling an intimate exhibition of textile-based installations by Swiss-Egyptian artist Karim Noureldin, whose works will be displayed at Art Dubai. We interviewed Noureldin, who shared the inspiration and vision behind the commissioned works.

FULL PROGRAM OF MODERN SYMPOSIUM 2018

The second edition of the Modern Symposium will return with a 3-day series of fascinating talks and discussions, led by international scholars, curators and patrons, about the trajectories and artistic practices of regional modernists.

BUY TICKETS FOR THE 12TH EDITION OF ART DUBAI

Gain access to the highlight event of the region's cultural calendar, taking place from 22 to 24 March, and discover more than 500 artists showcasing their work through 105 participating galleries, alongside a daily programme of talks, performances, tours and workshops.

Son and disciple of Ustad Imrat Khan, and nephew of Ustad Vilayat Khan, Irshad, dubbed as the "Mozart of Indian Music" (Isthmus, Milwaukee U.S.A.), is one of the foremost representatives of a musical heritage unprecedented in India. He is the torchbearer of the younger generation of the leading school of Sitar, known as the Imdadkhani Etawa Gharana.

Internationally recognized as one of the greatest living Sitar players and as the leading Surbahar (bass sitar) exponent of his generation, his expertise in both instruments ascends from the distinctiveness of his technique and mental prowess. His style is followed and inspires many formative and professional sitar players of his generation.

His phenomenal control of the intricate "gayaki-ang"(vocal) and "tantra-ang"(instrumental) styles, whether performing traditional ragas, or musical forms outside Indian classical, stimulates the imagination. Constantly searching for new ways to communicate with audiences, he transcends cultural barriers turning each performance into a spellbinding and unforgettable experience.

A child prodigy, his international debut at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, was only at 13.

At 18, he made history by becoming the youngest soloist to perform at one of the most prestigious international music festivals held in London, known as the Indian All Night Concert at the Proms. He has played in over 40 countries

Founder / President of Universal Academy for Musicians, based in Ontario and Mumbai, he conducts workshops, lectures and master classes in various educational institutions.

As his students come from different musical backgrounds – jazz, flamenco, African and Western classical, his Academy promotes cross-cultural collaborations and exchanges between different musical cultures. Their mandate is to preserve and propagate the particular strengths of Indian music. Says Irshad, "You are never too old to learn music, but you do need the time to practice. If you didn't get the chance to take music lessons when you were a kid, be assured that it's never too late. Indian classical music is one of the best tools for energizing or soothing your soul and boasts of perhaps the most sophisticated systems of rhythmic structures and patterns, as well as its emphasis on improvisation."

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

URU art harbour, with the support of Goethe Institut, presents André Luetzen's 'Living Climate: A Tale of Three Cities" from January 17 - February 28.

We are happy to announce André Luetzen's Living Climate: A Tale of Three Cities, an exhibition of photographs focusing on three cities with different weather conditions: Kochi in Southern India, Arkhangelsk in North-West Russia and Khartoum in Sudan.

In 'Living Climate: A Tale of Three Cities' André Luetzen approaches the question of how climate influences people and their ways of living. He documented how climate defines living situations and effect a diverse interplay between private and public. All photographs were taken between 2014 and 2017.

The exhibition will open on January 17, 2018, at URU art harbour, Kochangadi, and will remain open until February 28, 2018. The exhibition is conducted with the support of Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan.

André Luetzen, Tale of Three Cities, Arkhangelsk - Zhili Byli, 2014

"Zhili Byli" (Once upon a time...) combines images of contemporary living and housing conditions with a series of portraits of residents from the city of Arkhangelsk. This city in northwest Russia is plunged into freezing temperatures for eight months a year, sometimes as low as 40-degrees below zero. The climate makes for an extreme contrast between indoor and outdoor life. Inside pre-fab buildings or wooden houses residents have created cave-like havens of intimacy and comfort where they spend most of the year, while the world on the outside seems strangely neglected.

André Luetzen, Tale of Three Cities, Inside Out Kochi, 2015

"Inside Out" is photographed in Kochi, southern India, during monsoon season: for months the sun is hidden and the city veiled in a clammy, milky grey haze. Heavy rains flood streets and public spaces and force people inside even though living spaces are crowded and the heat is suffocating. The pictures of this series focus on the life and living conditions in the city of Kochi during these monsoon months.

André Luetzen, Tale of Three Cities, Khartoum, 2016/17

Khartoum,the capital of Sudan, is located where the Blue Nile and White Nile Rivers converge. The huge, spread-out city actually consists of three distinct cities which are divided by the Nile and its two arms. The sub-Saharan desert climate produces a dry heat of 46 degrees. As in Arkhangelsk and Kochi, here too, the climate makes for an extreme contrast between indoor and outdoor life.

ANDRÉ LÜTZEN

Born in 1963 in Hamburg, André Lützen studied visual communication at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg and at the International Center of Photography New York. He has received various awards for his work, which has been shown in numerous exhibitions such as the Haus der Photographie / Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, the Krefelder Kunstmuseen, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Noorderlicht Photogallery, Groningen, at the New York Photo Festival and at Photo Espana.

His photography has been published in several monographs: Generation Boul Fale (2001), Loch im Kopf (2005), Before Elvis there was nothing (2008), Public Private Hanoi (2010), Zhili Byli (2014), Inside Out Kochi (2015) and Up-River Book (2017).